The Sadrist Movement, led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, called on Iraq's highest judicial authority for the second time in less than a month to dissolve Parliament as part of a pressure tactic against its political rivals, amid a severe political crisis in Iraq. Despite ten months having passed since the legislative elections, political forces are still unable to agree on electing a new President and forming a new government.
Tensions between the Sadrist Movement and the Coordination Framework have escalated since late July, with both sides exchanging pressure on the streets and in statements, although the situation has not devolved into violence. The Sadrist Movement demands the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of early legislative elections, while the Coordination Framework wants these elections, but under conditions, insisting on forming a government before any early elections take place.
For nearly a month, Sadrist supporters have been staging a sit-in inside and around the Iraqi Parliament building. Meanwhile, supporters of the Coordination Framework have been demonstrating since August 12 on the road leading to the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. Thousands of Sadrist supporters participated in Friday prayers held in a square adjacent to the Iraqi Parliament. The Sadrist Movement, through a sermon delivered by Mohannad Al-Mousawi, a close associate of al-Sadr, called on the Federal Court to dissolve Parliament.
The court is scheduled to hold a session next Tuesday to consider the lawsuit filed by the Secretary-General of the Sadrist bloc, Nasar Al-Rubaie, as confirmed by a court source to AFP. Al-Mousawi addressed the judiciary, saying, "If the judgment is in your hands and the law is under your authority, and the constitution is under your gaze, you decide what you wish." He added, "Take this as advice from me: we will not relinquish our rights, even after a while."
On August 10, Muqtada al-Sadr demanded that the judiciary dissolve Parliament within a week; however, the judiciary later stated that it did not have this authority. The Iraqi constitution, in Article 64, stipulates that the dissolution of the Council of Representatives can be achieved "by an absolute majority of its members, based on a request from one-third of its members, or at the request of the Prime Minister with the approval of the President."
